Our Preschool Homeschool Space Unit: Learning About the Sun ☀️
After transforming our little homeschool classroom into outer space, it was finally time to actually start learning about it!
For the first week of our preschool homeschool space unit, we started with the biggest thing in our solar system: the Sun.
My kids are almost three and five, so I try to keep our homeschool days pretty hands-on. We still work on the preschool basics like counting, patterns, tracing, colors and fine motor skills, but I love finding ways to work those skills into whatever we're learning about that week.
For our Sun week, that meant lots of art, a little science, some worksheets and, of course, plenty of playing.
What's in Our Morning Menus
We start most homeschool mornings with our Morning Menus. Some of the pages stay the same throughout the year, like writing their names, talking about the day and weather, looking at the calendar and reviewing basic information. Then I switch out a few pages based on whatever we're learning about.
For Sun week, I added a few free printable worksheets I found online.
Sun Patterns
We used this Sun pattern worksheet from K5 Learning to practice recognizing and completing patterns.
Download: Sun Patterns Worksheet from K5 Learning
I love finding little ways to incorporate math and preschool fundamentals into our space unit instead of treating them like completely separate subjects.
The Sun Is a Star
We also used this free Sun worksheet from Twisty Noodle.
Download: The Sun Is a Star Worksheet from Twisty Noodle
It gave us another opportunity to talk about one of the biggest things I wanted them to remember from the week: the Sun is a star!
Solar System Paths
For some tracing and pencil control practice, we used pages from these Solar System Paths worksheets from Superstar Worksheets.
Download: Solar System Paths Printable
These were an easy way to keep working on pre-writing and fine motor skills while staying with our space theme.
Paper Plate Sun Craft
This was probably one of my favorite crafts from the week because we were able to work so many different skills into one activity.
We started with a paper plate and orange, yellow and white paint. Instead of using just one color, I let them mix the colors together directly on the plate to create their own Sun.
Once the paint dried, I punched holes all the way around the edge of the plate.
Then they used pipe cleaners and beads to create the Sun's rays.
It turned into a great fine motor activity without really feeling like one. They were threading beads, working with colors, making patterns and using those little hand muscles while creating their Sun.
And, of course, every Sun came out completely different.
Sun Print Paper Experiment
Next we took our learning outside!
We used sun print paper to see how sunlight could actually create an image.
The kids chose different objects to place on the special paper, we left them in the sunlight and then watched what happened.
This was such a simple activity, but it gave us a really fun way to talk about sunlight and how powerful the Sun is.
There is something about an experiment where kids can actually SEE something change that makes the lesson stick so much better.
Frozen Toy Rescue + Learning About Heat
One of the biggest hits of the week was our frozen toy rescue.
I froze small toys in ice and let the kids figure out how to rescue them. We used a heat transfer learning kit as part of the activity and talked about what happens when ice gets warmer.
Heat Transfer Kit We Used:
Shop it on Amazon
For preschool, I wasn't trying to turn this into a complicated science lesson about thermal energy. I wanted them to start making the basic connection between the Sun, warmth, heat and melting.
And trying to rescue toys trapped inside giant pieces of ice definitely kept their attention!
Space Books and Stories
We also read and watched different stories about the Sun and space throughout the week.
I have found that this is one of the easiest ways to reinforce what we're learning without making our homeschool day feel like we're sitting at a desk doing school all day.
We might do an activity in the morning and then later read a book or watch a story that mentions something we talked about earlier. I love when one of the kids suddenly recognizes it and tells me what they remember.
Building Spaceships With Magna-Tiles
Not everything has to be a planned lesson.
Our new space Magna-Tiles stayed out all week, and the kids used them to build rockets, spaceships and whatever else they decided belonged in outer space that day.
I consider that part of learning too.
They're building, problem-solving, creating and using their imaginations while staying completely immersed in the theme we're learning about.
Keeping Preschool Homeschool Fun
One thing I'm learning very quickly in this preschool homeschool journey is that I don't need every activity to look like traditional school.
My kids are learning when they're threading beads onto a pipe cleaner.
They're learning when they're trying to melt a frozen block of ice.
They're learning when they're building a spaceship.
And they're learning when they're sitting at our table working through a pattern or tracing worksheet.
I'm trying to make each part of our preschool space unit a mix of art, science, hands-on learning and play while still keeping those important preschool fundamentals worked into our days.
For our first official week of SPACE, I'd say the Sun was a pretty great place to start. ☀️🚀
Next up, we're heading to Mercury!